Outfielder Cobb Is Cream Of The Crop For Apopka

All-county baseball and softball

Apopka junior Mariah Cobb is flying high. And she can thank her .500 batting average for that soaring feeling.

After hitting .493 her sophomore season, Cobb had two goals this year: hit .500 and make the all-state team. The center fielder shared those aspirations with family friend and pilot Bill Morris, who owns a small plane.

FOR THE RECORD - ******************** CORRECTION PUBLISHED JUNE 15, 1997 *********************Because of a reporter's error, the school listed for catcher Adrianne Redditt on the all-county softball team in Sunday's Orange Extra was incorrect. Redditt played for Boone High School.*****************************************************************************

FOR THE RECORD - ******************** CORRECTION PUBLISHED JUNE 15, 1997 *********************Because of a reporter's error, the school listed for catcher Adrianne Redditt on the all-county softball team in Sunday's Orange Extra was incorrect. Redditt played for Boone High School. *****************************************************************************

''He told me if I did both, he'd fly me to Cedar Key,'' said Cobb, who earned Orange County player of the year honors after hitting .500 with four homers, 11 doubles, 30 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.

With the graduation of Winter Park catcher Devon Keefe, arguably one of the area's best softball players in years, Cobb is now Orange County's cream of the crop.

''Cobb's a heck of a ballplayer,'' said Winter Park coach Johnny Miller, who just finished his 15th season. ''She had a great year. Devon had a great career. You can't beat her.

''You heard a lot about Devon this year. Next year, it's Cobb.''

Cobb has great respect for the Princeton-bound Keefe, who ended up hitting .395 with five homers and 30 stolen bases.

''I think she's great; I've talked to her a couple times,'' Keefe said. ''I always did look up to her. My freshman year, she played for the Clearwater Bombers and I would go and watch her.

''She didn't know me or know I was watching her, but you want to see somebody who's good. You always can learn something from them.''

''She (Cobb) is not even close to being a bad outfielder,'' Apopka coach Mike MacWithey said. ''She probably has the strongest arm in Orange County. She's a big girl, but she's not slow. I think she's the best outfielder in Central Florida, no doubt.''

''She's a good outfielder who runs like a deer (and has) an arm like a cannon. She has all the qualities of Devon, but she plays the outfield. Just a different position.''

Other qualities Cobb shares with Keefe are the intangibles coaches love: leadership and a strong work ethic.

''She just came back from a Florida clinic and her father said she was the only one sweating,'' MacWithey said. ''She was working her butt off. I've coached a lot of star players, but she's always wanting that extra work.

''She's very determined and very dedicated with what she does.''

Another thing Cobb takes seriously is her church missionary work with a group called World Changers. Each of the last two summers, Cobb spent time in Nicaragua spreading good will and the gospel.

Two years ago, her group lived in tents with no access to toilets and electricity as they helped build a school. Last summer, Cobb and her sister, Sarah, stayed in the school and built a church.

Cobb said the people she met there were very nice.

''They have so little and the people were so happy,'' Cobb said. ''They're happy being alive. In America, you hear so many cruel things and so many people aren't happy. And we have so much.''

Maybe that explains Cobb's easy-going, hard-working nature.

''I need to work on my bunting and slap hitting,'' she said. ''I look forward to a good softball season (next year). We only lost one player. This past year, I had a good year, and the year before.

''I expect myself to get better. I'll do any little thing I can do to get better.''